Main description:

Pivotal Trials in Ophthalmology: A Guide for Trainees is an introductory text designed to give trainees a comprehensive and accessible overview of landmark trials in the different subspecialties of ophthalmology, and may also serve as a useful reference for practicing ophthalmologists, optometrists and researchers in the field.

The text is subdivided by subspecialty, with each chapter authored by both a trainee and an expert in the field. A selection of pivotal research studies that have shaped how practitioners diagnose, manage, and treat disease are reviewed in chronological order. The purpose, study design, results, and study limitations are reviewed, and the key takeaway points from each study are listed in a digestible, bullet-point format. By listing the studies in chronological order, the reader will have an understanding of how studies have built upon each other and how knowledge has evolved over time.

This text can serve as a basic introductory text for first year ophthalmology residents around which a standardized curriculum can be shaped, a study guide for board examination study, or a reference text for practitioners and researchers at any stage of training and practice.

Contents:

The studies will be selected by the chapter author and subject expert (names listed are the directors of each service at MEEI who we intend to recruit as chapter authors). A hypothetical sample of trials is listed below for the glaucoma section.

1. Introduction2. Glaucoma - David Friedman MD, MPH, PhD a. Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS) - 1994 i. Background ii. Purpose iii. Methods iv. Results v. Limitations vi. Take-away points b. Glaucoma Laser Trial (GLT) - 1995 c. Collaborative Normal Tension Glaucoma Study (CNTGS) - 1999 d. Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS) - 2001 e. Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT) - 2002 f. Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) - 2002 g. European Glaucoma Preventing Study (EGPS) - 2002 h. Ahmed vs. Baerveldt Study (AVB) - 2011 i. Tube vs. Trab Study (TVT) - 2012 j. United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study (UKGTS) - 20133. Cornea - Reza Dana, MD4. Neuro-ophthalmology - Joseph Rizzo, MD5. Pediatrics and Strabismus - David Hunter, MD, PhD6. Retina - Dean Eliott, MD7. Oculoplastics and Ophthalmic Pathology - Suzanne Freitag, MD, Frederick Jakobiec, MD, DSc8. Lens, Cataract and Refractive Surgery - Sherleen Chen, MD